Wobbling Southwest League resumes after FECAFOOT ultimatum

The Southwest Regional Football League has resumed after the Cameroon Football Federation handed down a one-month ultimatum for the League to halt.

The League which, at the start of the football season, witnessed a plethora of boycott by teams and club Presidents, finally ground to a halt after the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

The teams and club Presidents were asking FECFAFOOT to pay club subventions, share the fallouts from the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and pay damages incurred by the clubs due to the abrupt stop of the championship.

The resolution for the resumption of the Southwest Regional League was recently arrived in Buea, during an extraordinary General Assembly convened by the Southwest Regional President of FECAFOOT, Senator Charles Mbella Moki.

The in-camera meeting brought together FECAFOOT executives, club presidents and coaches.

Talking to reporters after the meeting, Senator Mbella Moki said he was bitter with the stagnation of the championship due to the late disbursement of funds by FECAFOOT.

He thanked the various actors for their collaboration with his bureau, but warned that people should not criticise from without, with no knowledge of what is happening with FECAFOOT in the Southwest.

The Senator said, comparatively, the Southwest Regional Bureau of FECAFOOT has recorded some landmark achievements during his tenure in office.

“But that does not necessarily mean the job was a hundred percent well done,” he added.

According to him, there have been a lot of challenges and the Regional Bureau could only make do with the resources at its disposal. He said his greatest wish is to see the League regain its verve and competitiveness again.

The Coach of Buea United FC, Banarbas Njoku, said even though the teams and club Presidents have agreed to resume the tournament, they are still not happy because the problems that led to the suspension of the Southwest Regional Championship have not been solved.

“Even though we have agreed to re-start the league on Saturday, we are not satisfied, as club Presidents, because this League came to a halt because of financial problems. Now we have been asked to recommence the league without any money.

It is just the President who has voluntarily opted to give us a token from his private pocket as motivation, even though the money is not going to do anything, but we thank him for his effort,” Njoku said.

The Coach of Little Foot FC Tiko, Protus Nouck, said he was not satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. According to him, the problems that led to the boycott of the League are still staring them in the face.

At the end of the conclave, the stakeholders agreed that the league will be carved out into four poles, with each pole having five teams. This, they agreed, will reduce the number of playing days and will enable them to meet up with the November 15 deadline set by FECAFOOT.